


Where We Go

by Johanna_002



Category: Orange is the New Black
Genre: Gen, Mother-Daughter Relationship, Mother-Son Relationship, Other, Reunification
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-10-02
Updated: 2020-12-30
Packaged: 2021-03-08 03:54:25
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 9,097
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26769082
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Johanna_002/pseuds/Johanna_002
Summary: Gloria's reconnected with her youngest daughter, Elena, who now, more than ever before needs her mother. This is my take on the events leading up to Gloria's last scene (S7E13).
Kudos: 4





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Gloria Mendoza is one of my favorite characters. I've really grown to love her, and I wanted to explore her journey on the other side of Litchfield's walls as she reconnects with her children and gets back on her feet.

-01-

It was a little after 10 when the phone rang. Gloria, who had been asleep on the couch, jerked awake instantly at the noise. "Hello?" she answered, her voice rough from sleep.

"Hello?"

Frowning at the unfamiliarity of the voice, Gloria pulled the phone from her ear and stared at the number in confusion. "Hello?" she said again, pushing herself up into a sitting position. "Who is this?"

"Mom, it's me. It's Elena."

Gloria felt a surge of energy shoot through her instantly. She turned on the lamp and reached for the remote that she had dropped on the floor. Turning off the T.V so that her full focus could be on her daughter, she said, "Elena? Honey, are you okay? Why are you calling so late?"

"Late?" Elena laughed on the other end. "It's not that late. Were you asleep?"

"Well of course," Gloria frowned. "I get up at 5:30 in the morning." Rubbing the sleep out of her eyes, and curling into the corner of the couch, she felt herself begin to relax. "What are you doing?"

"I'm at work," Elena told her. "I'm getting off in a few minutes. I just wanted to talk. For some reason, I was thinking about you a lot today."

"Oh, baby, I think about you every day," Gloria promised her. "I always have. I've been meaning to call you, but it's been so busy the last few days. I haven't even had a minute to sit down and think. I've come home every night and crashed. Last night I fell asleep in the shower, and tonight I was on the couch." She looked down at her lap and sighed. "I'm actually still in my work clothes."

"Bummer," Elena empathized. "I've been sleeping on the couch for the last week too."

"Why?" Gloria frowned.

"Ehh," Elena seemed hesitant to answer her. "I don't know," she dragged the words out. "It's been a rough couple of weeks. Tony and I have been arguing a lot," she explained, talking about her daughter's father. "Everything and nothing. Money. Him being out. Me doing all of the work and taking care of Isla by myself. We got into a fight when I left for work because he wasn't going to pick Isla up from his mother's."

"Why not?" Gloria asked. She tried to keep her tone neutral.

Since being released from Litchfield, she had reconnected with her youngest daughter, and slowly they had been rebuilding their relationship piece by piece. They were a lot closer than they had been in years, but still, Gloria tried to filter her opinions about the choices Elena made in regard to her personal life. She, herself, was hardly a model image, but she knew tumultuous when she saw it, and Tony, her daughter's boyfriend, was no prize.

"Probably because he wanted to go out and party with his friends," Elena said sadly. "I'm getting really sick of it, mom. He comes in late, sometimes 2 or 3 am. Last night he was so belligerently drunk, I don't even know how he made it up the stairs, let alone how he made it home."

Gloria bit at her thumb, weighing her response. "Has he always been a heavy drinker?" she asked.

"We used to party a lot," Elena admitted. "I thought he'd grow out of it by now though. Like dude, come on, we have a kid. We have bills. We aren't 19 anymore, you know?" She sighed in frustration. "He told me I'm not any fun and that I need to relax. I don't care if he goes out, but every night? Who does that?"

"I don't know, Mija," Gloria whispered empathetically. "Are you worried he might have an actual problem? Is he stressed or going through something?" she asked sincerely.

There was a long pause, and for a moment Gloria had wondered if she had overstepped. She hadn't wanted to bash the guy and make her daughter mad. She personally hadn't wanted to defend him either, but they were real questions to consider, and she felt it was something that needed to be taken into consideration. At least for her own peace of mind.

"This has been happening for years, mom," Elena said finally. "He cares more about drinking then he does about me or Isla. He cares about partying and chasing other women. I call him and call him all night, thinking he might be dead or in jail, who knows, and he doesn't answer. We got into a fight this morning when he came home and when I asked where he was, he told me it was none of my business, and that I wasn't his mother."

Gloria clenched her fist tightly, her nails leaving indentions in the palm of her hand. She was trying to keep her temper under control, but it was getting harder and harder with each word her daughter spoke. She sounded so upset, and so defeated. Gloria remembered feeling that exact way as if it were yesterday. No one knew how hard it was to be a young mother. Especially, one in a situation where the father was of little to no help.

"I just don't know what to do," Elena confessed. "I feel so guilty, mom. I love him, and my daughter loves him. She needs her dad, but I'm tired of living this way. I'm tired of the fighting and the arguing. I go through his phone, and I'm not stupid. I know what he's doing when he's not home. I don't want to continue doing this, but I don't want to hurt Isla either."

"Baby, I'm so sorry. I wish I knew what to tell you, but I don't," Gloria admitted. "I've been in this situation too many times to count, and you'd think I'd have an answer for you, but I don't."

"What do you think I should do?" Elena asked sadly.

Gloria ran her hand through her hair as she tucked her legs under herself. "I can't tell you what to do, Elena. From experience, I will tell you that staying has never made anything better. At least not for me. I know you were too young to remember, but I didn't just walk out on your father for the fun of it. I didn't walk out on the boys either. I really tried to have a family and do it the right way. Unfortunately, the men that I choose, just… we're not the right ones."

"Yea," Elena laughed. "You have dated a lot of bums."

"Low self-esteem," Gloria admitted honestly. "They're the ones who were interested in me. After a while of dating so many, and putting up with all the bullshit, you start to think it's the best you can do. It doesn't help that they start telling you that. Then the relationship ends, and you find the same thing, time after time. It really drains you, Mija."

Elena sounded worried. "What if this is the best I can do?" she asked. "Who is going to want me?"

"Anyone would be lucky to have you, Elena," Gloria told her sternly. "You don't have to stay in a situation that is making you unhappy or is unhealthy. Anyone who is drinking and cheating on you, and not handling business is not someone you need in your life as a partner."

"I just wish I knew what to do." Elena didn't sound convinced, and that broke Gloria's heart. So much of her daughter's self-doubt was her own fault. She'd hurt her so much; it was no wonder the girl was wanting to cling on to the family and life that she had created. It was never easy to end a relationship but to end one that you'd been in for the last decade, with a man who had been your only source of familiarity and comfort was excruciating. Especially when you still loved him and wanted a true family with him.

"Anyway, I'll talk to you later okay? Maybe I'll call you tomorrow." Elena told her. "I need to pick up Isla. I've been sitting in the back office talking to you, but I need to clock out and go."

"Okay honey," Gloria nodded her head. "Please text me when you get home, so I know you made it safe."

"I will," Elena promised.

"Oh, and baby, one more thing," Gloria spoke hurriedly. "Whatever you decide to do, Elena, I'm here, okay? Whatever you need. If you need me to pick Isla up from your mothers-in-law on my way home from work I will, or if you ever feel like you need to leave, my door is open. I'm only a phone call away, alright?"

"Thank you, mom... I love you."

"I love you too, baby. Please be careful going home. Don't forget to text me."


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for any interest taken in this story. I apologize in advanced if anyone follows any of my work or enjoys any of my writings and have wondered why I don't update often. I am a Nursing Student. I have just recently completed my first year of school, and now have a mini-break, so hopefully, I can utilize my time off wisely and get a little bit of writing done before I'm back in the thick of school-work. 
> 
> Again, thank you so much for taking the time to read my stories.

-02-

When Elena finally got to her mother-in-law's it was after 11, and she was bone tired. Her feet hurt, her back hurt, she smelled of grease and sweat, and the only thing she wanted most in the world was to take a nice hot shower and go to bed.

Her phone vibrated in her hand, but she was disappointed to see that the message was from her mother and not her boyfriend.

"Did you make it home?"

"Just got to MIL house," she typed back. "I'm having a friend drop me and Isla off at home."

"Have you heard from Tony?"

"No," Elena wrote back. "He keeps sending me to voicemail."

"That's too bad. Let me know when you're home. Be safe. Love you, XO."

Unlocking the front door with the spare key she had been given years ago, Elena was not surprised to be welcomed by a room full of people. "Hola," she greeted them, as she closed the door behind her.

"¡Isla, tu mamá está aquí!" Her father-in-law yelled. He was tucked into his favorite chair warmly, feet propped up, and a fleece blanket across his lap.

"She's still up?" Elena asked in concern. "It's a school night."

"She took a nap after Tony dropped her off," Her mother-in-law explained in thick English. "Ella no está cansada. She isn't tired"

Elena tried to keep the disappointment off of her face. Beggars couldn't be choosers, and she didn't want to come across as ungrateful. Her in-laws did so much for her and Isla, often going above and beyond what any sane person would. Normally, they did their best to keep Isla on a schedule, but it was often difficult and exhausting for Isla when her routine was bounced around and scheduled so chaotically.

"Have you heard from Tony?" her mother-in-law asked, getting up and motioning for her daughter-in-law to follow her into the kitchen. "He told me the two of you got into a fight this morning."

"We fight every morning it seems," Elena told her bitterly. She opened the fridge and pulled out two water bottles. "I don't know how much more I can take," she confessed quietly.

Her mother-in-law regarded her carefully, her dark brown eyes flashing with sympathy. She dropped her eyes to the ground as if the tile would give her the words of wisdom and comfort she was looking for. "Marriage is hard," she said finally. "Some people have more issues than others, but it's always going to be hard, Mija."

Elena bit the inside of her cheek. She decided to not correct her mother-in-law on the technicalities of being married. All that would earn her was a lecture about how having a child together couldn't make any two people more married than that, and as much as she didn't want to hear it, she knew it was true.

"Try not to think too much tonight. You're upset, and that never is the right way to make decisions. You have Isla to think about."

Elena nodded in understanding. Whatever she felt at the end of the day toward Tony, nothing would change the fact that he was Isla's father. She had a daughter to think about, and whatever choices she made or didn't make, every decision and consequence had to be weighed carefully in Isla's best interest.

"Did he say where he was going, Louise?" Elena asked curiously. "I've been trying to call him since I left work, but he keeps sending me to voicemail."

Her mother in law shook her head no. "He was in a bad mood," she whispered. "You know I don't like dealing with him when he acts like that."

"How do you think I feel?" Elena scoffed.

Walking across the kitchen, she took Elena's hands in her own and squeezed them tightly. "You'll figure it out," she promised her. "You always do. You have your mother back now, and I'm here," she promised. "You know I'd do anything for you and Isla. Antonio is going through something right now. I don't know what, but you two grew up very fast, Mija. Just be patient a little while longer with him, okay?"

A moment of silence fell between them, and Elena sighed defeatedly as her mother-in-law pulled her into a warm hug. So many times, over the last decade, she'd fallen into these arms willing them to be her mother's. They had never felt quite right, but they'd always been warm and welcoming, and everything she had been missing for so many years.

At the sounds of feet pattering against the floor, the two women pulled apart. Isla was standing in the doorway of the kitchen, her long pony-tail messy, and her baby hairs astray. She looked like any typical four-year-old who'd had the time of their life causing chaos.

"Hi, Mami!"

"Hi, baby," Elena bent down to collect her daughter into her arms. "I missed you so much tonight," she promised her, kissing her cheek. "Did you miss me?"

"Yea," Isla told her, wrapping her arms around her neck. "I got to play with my cousins today," she told her happily, as she grasped a thick wad of her mother's curly hair and twisted it around her fingers. "Abuelo bought me a barbie. He said it's because I'm his favorite girl."

"Oh, I'm sure he did," Elena smiled. She didn't dare point out that Isla was the only granddaughter, instead, she rubbed her hand up and down her back in continuous, soothing motions and pressed a sweet kiss to her temple. "Say bye to your grandparents," she told her as she set her daughter back on her feet. "We have to go home and get ready for bed."

"But I'm not tired," Isla complained as she walked behind her mother to hug and kiss her grandmother.

"Well, then you just lay down and pretend to sleep," Elena reasoned with her. She grabbed the pink backpack that her mother-in-law had re-packed, and the two water bottles she'd gotten from the fridge. "Where are your shoes?"

"By the door," Isla told her as she scurried out of the kitchen to give her grandfather a hug and kiss goodbye.

"Are you working in the evening?" Her father-in-law asked curiously as he helped Isla put on her pink, princess light-up shoes. "We were wanting to go down to the church and play bingo."

"Ricky!" his wife frowned.

"I do," Elena nodded, "but don't worry about it. You go and have fun. My mom can watch her."

"Are you sure?" Louise asked.

Elena nodded. "I trust her."

…

Standing beneath the spray of the shower, Elena felt her eyes get heavy and her head bob back in exhaustion. She didn't have the energy to even wash her hair, and if she hadn't heard her cell phone ringing, she would have sworn that she could have fallen asleep standing up.

Turning off the water and ripping back the shower curtain, she quickly wrapped herself up in the towel she'd had hanging over the shower bar. "Mom?" she answered the phone in confusion. "Are you okay?"

"I was calling to ask you the same thing," Gloria told her tiredly. "You never text me. I wanted to make sure you got home alright."

"I sent you a text," Elena told her. She held the phone in place against her ear with her shoulder as she picked up all of her clothes from the floor.

"I didn't get it."

"Sorry, it must not have gone through." Elena tipped toed down the hallway quietly to her room. She peeked in on Isla, who had thankfully fallen asleep as soon as her head had hit the pillow. "Did you wait up all this time?"

"Yes," Gloria told her. There was a tone of annoyance in her voice. "Oh well, I got my laundry folded and put away, and did the dishes."

"That's good. I'm getting ready for bed," Elena told her as she pulled on a pair of black and pink fleece pajama bottoms. "Since I have you on the phone, I have a favor to ask. I have to work another night shift and my in-laws are going out. Can you watch Isla until I get off?"

"Of course, Mija. You never have to ask," Gloria's annoyance fluttered away and was instantly replaced with enthusiasm. "Do I need to pick her up from daycare? Do you have plans for Saturday, maybe she can just spend the night and we can do something together? She and I can go grocery shopping, I'll make dinner. Do you think she'd like to make cookies or brownies?"

Elena smiled sadly as she listened to her mother speak. After all of the year, her memories clouded by time, it felt so effortless to remember working alongside her mother and eldest sister, Cecilia, in their grandmother's kitchen. She both cherished and grieved deeply for those times.

"We used to bake cookies together all the time when you were a little girl," Gloria said fondly. "Do you remember that? We'd eat dinner in the bedroom, and watch cartoons. You and your sister used to have all of your toys on the bed with us."

"Yea," Elena whispered. "I remember."

"I'd do your hair with those barrettes."

"Two long, braided pigtails," Elena finished for her. "Ceci always just wanted one long braid. I always wanted two. My hair stuff was pink."

"Mmhmm," Gloria hummed. "Your sister's was purple." She sighed deeply. "I used to paint your nails too. We always had so much fun together. For so long I treated you girls like my real live baby dolls. Everything was pink, or purple, and you both would have drowned in glitter and sparkles if I'd been able to get away with it. I know it might be hard to believe, Elena, but I thought about you girls every day. I missed you all the time."

"I missed you too, mom," Elena told her. It was so easy to hear these things and get lost in the memory of how good it all used to be. She didn't have the heart to tell her mother that for years she'd felt like a toy who had been discarded. For so long all she'd wanted was to have her back, and now that she finally did, arguing was the last thing she wanted to do.

"I know I have a lot to make up for," Gloria told her. "I'm just so happy to have you back, baby."

"I know you are, mom." A yawn escaped her, and she said, "I'm gonna let you go. I'm going to try calling Tony one more time, and I'll send you the address of Isla's daycare tomorrow. I'll send her with some overnight clothes and a pull-up. She still has accidents sometimes."

"That's no problem. You can always stay the night too, you know."

"We'll see," Elena said tiredly. "Goodnight, mom."

"Goodnight, Mija. I love you."

"Love you too." The line disconnected and Elena sighed as she snuggled beneath the blankets. Pulling the blanket over her head, she thrummed her way to her recent calls and impatiently waited for Tony to answer.

The automated system answered, and voice cracked with tears as she asked, "Tony, where are you? Why aren't you picking up my calls? I'm getting really sick of this. You keep sending me to voicemail, and it's starting to really piss me off."

She hung up and called him again, once more getting his voice mail. "You're off drinking, or doing whatever it is you're doing, probably spending our rent money, for all I know. Meanwhile, I'm here picking up our daughter in the middle of the night from your parent's house because you think being out with your friends is more important than being home."

She hung up and called him again. "I don't understand why it's so hard for you to care about our family. I don't know how much longer I can put up with this," she said. "You really need to call me back, and it would be in your best interest to call me back now."


	3. Chapter 3

-03-

When Elena woke up the next morning, she was disappointed, but not surprised, to see that the space next to her in bed was empty. Tony had never bothered returning her calls or texts, and after a while, she had just stopped trying. Turning off her 6 am alarm, she buried her head in the pillow and curled up into a little ball. It felt as if her entire life was being tilted on its axis, and she had no way of controlling it.

Things between her and Tony had been off for a while now, but every time she tried to get close to him, it felt as if he was hauling-ass, and running in the other direction. She didn't know what to do. Rubbing her bare feet against the plush-fleece of her blanket she sighed in contentment. If it were up to her, she'd spend the entire day in bed and just snuggle with her daughter.

For the second time, her alarm began to go off, and she was reminded in that instance that nothing was up to her. The day was just beginning, and already it felt as if it would be a taxing one.

Rolling out of bed, she slipped her feet into her pink, fuzzy slippers and reached for her pink robe. Yawning, she brushed her hand through her hair and made her way to the kitchen to start preparing her coffee. Normally she and Isla would have enough time in the morning to sit down together and have breakfast before she dropped her off at daycare.

Usually, she'd work the morning shift and be able to pick her daughter up from her in-laws at a reasonable hour, but with the diner being so short-staffed, she'd taken advantage of the opportunity to pick up additional night shifts. It was why Tony's actions infuriated her so much. He got off at 6 pm every night, a more than reasonable time to pick Isla up from his parent's in her absence and watch her.

Adding cream and sugar to her mug, Elena was taken off guard by the sound of the front door opening. Whipping around the corner, she didn't notice how her sudden presence had taken her boyfriend off guard. "Are you just now getting home?" she asked him angrily. She hadn't paid attention to the fact that he hadn't been on the sofa when she'd walked through the living room just moments before.

"Why are you up?" he asked her, shrugging off his coat and kicking off his shoes.

"Are you just now getting home?" she asked him again. "At 6:15 in the morning? Where have you been all night?"

"Out," he growled.

"I know that," she responded sarcastically. "I'm asking where. Where have you been for the past 12 hours? You just decided that you can come and go as you please, or what? Like you don't have any responsibilities? It must be nice. I wish I could just decide to leave my child, and my home, and do whatever I wanted all night."

"Don't start with me," he told her, stepping around her and heading toward their bedroom. "You want to start bitching as soon as I come through the door? You're calling me all hours of the night, bitching, bitching, bitching. That's all you do."

"That's all I do?" Elena repeated dumbly. "You got all my messages, you saw me calling, and didn't think that you should answer the phone? What if there was an emergency?"

"Well there wasn't, was there?" He collapsed back onto their bed, his feet hanging off the side.

Elena regarded him carefully. His movements hadn't been staggering, his words weren't slurred. His eyes were clear and there were no black rings or traces of exhaustion anywhere on his face. It didn't seem as if he'd gone on some kind of binder or had been drinking his liver into cirrhosis. In fact, he seemed completely calm. He was cool-headed and fully aware of where he was and what he was saying.

Standing in the doorway, her cup of coffee cradled in both hands she felt her body go weak against the door. "You weren't out all-night drinking with friends and being an idiot, were you?" she asked him sadly. "You were avoiding me to avoid me."

Tony sighed. His left arm was draped across his face.

"Were you with another woman?" she asked him hesitantly. She averted her eyes to the caramel color of her coffee. She wasn't sure if she even wanted to know the answer.

"Don't ask questions you don't want to know the answer to, Elena." He spoke so clearly and methodically as if he were reading facts from a textbook. There was no emotion or any indication of regret. Just simple truth.

"So you were," she surmised. "While I'm working overnight, picking up double shifts? While your mother is watching our daughter?" she couldn't believe that he could be so stupid. "You'd rather be off, fucking around with some other woman then at home trying to make our family work?" she asked bitterly. "Is that what you're saying to me right now?"

Tony sighed deeply, his arm never leaving his face.

Elena clutched tightly to her cup. For an instant, she thought her grip would shatter the glass, and in the next, she was thinking about how satisfying it would feel to throw the coffee at him.

Her 6:30 alarm started going off and she reached into the pocket of her robe to quickly silence her phone. "I've busted my ass to try and make things work between us," she told him angrily. "I've done everything I could possibly do, for years. Now you want to come into our home at six in the morning, and tell me you've been with another woman? Is that where you've been this whole time, for months?" Her voice was getting louder and louder with every question she asked. "Hello? I'm talking to you! I feel like I'm talking to a goddamn wall!"

He sat up in bed, his tone and eyes distant. "Then maybe you should stop talking, Elena. Your alarms going off, you got shit to do. Maybe you should go do that and leave me alone. Go be a mother. Go to work. Go handle your business and stay out of mine."

"Someone has to," she growled. "Obviously I can't depend on you. Because unless it's fucking off, and fucking around with someone else, what good are you doing me? Just in case you care, Isla is going to my mom's when she gets out of daycare."

"Good, hopefully, your mom won't fuck her up the way she did you."

"Maybe she won't fuck her up the way her father is," Elena shot back angrily. "I'm letting you know now, that this conversation isn't over. You don't get to just make new rules and decide to come home when it's convenient for you."

"It's over for me," he told her bitterly.

Elena felt frozen in place. She wanted to move, she wanted to walk out of the room, but she felt caught between two worlds. Her feet felt as if they'd been cemented, and all she could do was stare at him.

Tony stared back at her, but it was almost as if he was looking through her. It didn't appear that he was able to register who she was to him, and it was as if she was a total stranger. He opened his mouth to speak, and it was as if all of their years had suddenly reared its ugly head and knocked the wind out of him.

"What?" she asked him finally.

"Nothing."

"Not nothing. What were you going to say?"

"Is Isla spending the night with your mother?" The question caught Elena off guard. Her brow's furrowed in confusion and before she had time to formulate a response, Tony was speaking once more. "I think she should."

"You think she should spend the night?"

"I think you both should stay with her."

"Stay with my mother?" Elena repeated.

"You can't afford this apartment by yourself," He told her coldly. "I think it would be best. For everyone."

"You mean best for you," Elena told him brokenly. "You're kicking me out? You're kicking your daughter out of her own home? Is that seriously how you want to do this?"

"I'll be there for my daughter," he told her. "Don't doubt that. You and I don't have to be together for me to take care of her, and I can't stand to be around you. I don't want to be with you anymore. We're done, Elena."

…

Later the morning, Tony's words still circulating around her head, Elena found herself being more aggressive with the breakfast dishes then she needed to be. How was it possible that she could spend ten years loving someone, just for them to wake up one day and decide that they didn't love her anymore? She didn't understand.

How could he come home, and act as if nothing had happened? He'd spent the night with another woman as easily as she folded laundry. It didn't bother him. He hadn't blinked. He left one woman's bed and had fluidly made his way to lay in theirs. How sick could a person be?

"Good morning sunshine, it's a little too early for you to be wearing that sour face."

Elena looked up, recognizing the voice as her big sister, Cecilia.

"I just got off a 12-hour shift at the hospital, you could at least look happy to see me," Cecilia frowned at her as she slid into a chair at the dining bar. "You're cutting into my sleep time after all." She settled her lavender, floral tote bag on her lap.

Elena bit her lip roughly. "Coffee?" she asked finally.

"Lots of cream and lots of sugar," Cecilia smiled at her.

Setting the coffee down in front of her sister, Elena also passed her a menu. Regarding her carefully, she couldn't help but think Cecilia was the spitting image of their mother. Everything about her, from her tan complexion to her nose, and even her very short, cropped hair. She knew her sister would probably punch her for voicing her thoughts out loud, but nonetheless, the realization brought a smile to her face. For so many years she'd idolized her sister. They were thick as thieves, and there was hardly a time where they didn't go a day without talking. For so long, they were all one another had, and, now more than anything she needed her sister.

"Tony kicked me out this morning," she said finally.

Cecilia snapped her head up quickly. "What?" she growled. "What do you mean he kicked you out?"

"Exactly that," Elena told her. "You know how we've been having problems for the last couple of months?"

"That's the understatement of the year," Cecilia scoffed. "You two have had problems since day one, what is so different now?"

"I don't know," Elena shook her head. "I mean, I do… he met someone else. He spent the night with her last night."

"What?"

"That's what I said. I had to work late last night, and we got into a fight before I came in for my shift. Instead of just staying home and watching Isla, he took her to his parents. His mom told me that he was mad when he dropped her off. When I got off, I started calling him asking where he was, assuming that he just went off with his friends and was fucking around with them or something."

"Well he was fucking around with someone, that's for sure," Cecilia told her bitterly. "Then what?" she asked, taking a sip of her coffee.

Elena leaned forward on the bar top, keeping her voice low so that the other patrons of the restaurant couldn't hear her. "Then nothing, he never answered any of my calls. He never came home last night. He walked in this morning at 6:15 and acted like I didn't even exist. We got into a fight, he told me all I do is bitch at him, then he told me to take Isla and not to come home."

"Bullshit?"

"No," Elena said sadly. "He was completely serious."

Cecilia balled her hands up into fists. "How can he do that?" she asked harshly. "Who does something like that?"

Elena shrugged. "I've been asking myself that all morning."

"What are you going to do?"

"He can't throw me out of my own home, can he?"

"Is his name on the lease?" Cecilia asked concernedly.

"Both of ours." Elena looked around the diner and tears pricked her eyes. "Who am I kidding?" she asked, her voice cracking with the weight of her emotions. "I can't afford a place on my own. Not working here. And in this city? Are you kidding?"

Cecilia nodded her head in agreement. "Makes you wonder how Gloria ever thought she could pull it off, huh?" she took another sip of her coffee, a smug look of satisfaction pulled across her lips.

Rolling her eyes, Elena ignored her. "And why should I have to leave? Why does my life get turned upside down because he changes his mind?" she asked.

"Because you can't afford to take over the rent and all the bills on your own?" Cecilia guessed aloud.

"You're not helping Ceci. I called you to help me, not for your smart-ass remarks."

"I'm sorry," Ceci blushed. "I'm sorry." She sighed deeply and took another drink of her coffee. "Can I put in an order?" she asked awkwardly.

"Omelet?" Elena asked, "No tomato, right?"

"Right," Ceci smiled at her softly. Sitting there in silence, Ceci busied herself with the remainder of her coffee and watched from the corner of her eye as her sister tended to the customer at the table across from her. When her sister made her way back behind the bar to put in another order, she asked, "How is Gloria?"

Elena didn't bother to look from the computer she was keying an order into. "Mom is fine," she said simply. "She's got a job at some men's suit store; she likes it I guess."

"Oh, I'm sure she does…" there was a tinge of annoyance mixed in with a lot of anger. "She never was one to resist attention."

Elena bit back a smile. It annoyed her when Ceci talked about their mother that way, but what was she going to say? She hated acting as a mediator in any form and did her best to stay out of the way. She had too much going on right now, that she didn't care to navigate her sister's complicated feelings or defend her mother's choices. She just wanted to co-exist in the world with both of them and feel the freedom to do that without being made to feel like she had to pick a side.

"She's trying, Ceci," Elena told her lightly. "She's got a job, an apartment."

"You mean the bare minimum that she should have?" Ceci wasn't impressed. She brought her cup to her lips and downed the last of her coffee. Elena's coworker appeared from the kitchen and set her breakfast down in front of her. "Thank you," she said politely.

"She's watching Isla tonight while I work," Elena told her as she refilled her sister's coffee cup. "She was really excited about the opportunity last night when I asked her."

"You trust her to do that?" Ceci asked in disbelief, cutting into her omelet. "I could call in and keep her if you want me too. There are tons of nurses who owe me favors. I'm always picking up their shifts."

"Why wouldn't I trust her?" Elena asked innocently.

Ceci shivered in disbelief. "I would never leave her alone with my child, Elena. How could you even stomach the thought? After what she did?" she angrily ticked off their mother's transgressions on her fingers. "Leaving us, having the boys, creating this whole new family in New York... going to prison and leaving them? Why would you even bring her into your and Isla's life? Why would you take that risk?"

"She isn't a monster, Ceci," Elena looked horrified at the implications. "She made mistakes."

"No," Ceci objected, pointing down at her plate. "The tomato in my omelet is a mistake, leaving your kids? That's incomprehensible, and it's unforgivable as far as I'm concerned."

Elena heaved a deep breath. "Pray, tell, where has being so angry gotten you?" she asked sincerely. "Through school, sure. You're focused. Now you spend all your time at the hospital, working yourself to death. You're too scared to let anyone in. You sabotage any relationship with any person who could potentially love you."

"That's not true!" Ceci objected, angrily cutting into the rest of her omelet.

"You were engaged once," Elena reminded her.

Ceci quickly shoved a bite of food into her mouth. "He wasn't the right one, was he?" she fired back.

"Well, now we'll never know," she said sarcastically. "As soon as he proposed you were on the next flight back to Puerto Rico."

"Oh, give me a break," Ceci rolled her eyes. "Abuela was sick."

"Abuela was dead within two weeks, and you didn't come home for almost two years," Elena told her truthfully. "You're scared everyone is going to leave you the way mom did. Everyone is not mom," she told her. "And mom is back now, so, I don't know… maybe it would help you work through some of that anger and fear if you talked to her."

Ceci's eyes grew misty. "You've been with Tony for ten years… you have a child together. How is that working out for you?" she asked her sister angrily. Not bothering to wait for a response she said, "As I say, it eventually all falls apart sooner or later. I saved myself the embarrassment of it all blowing up in my face."

Elena didn't hesitate to reach for her sister's hand. Ceci had always been a sensitive girl, and she had never really gotten over their mother leaving. It wasn't just something you could snap your fingers and forgive, but even as a young child, Elena had recognized the very delicate side of her sister's heart. It was something that made her a wonderful nurse, but a very prickly, human being sometimes. Ceci was always so scared of getting hurt, and she often presented herself with a very aggressive, ice-cold demeanor.

"Does she ask about me?" Ceci asked. She sounded like a little girl, and not like the near thirty-year-old woman that she was.

"Of course, she does," Elena told her, dropping her hand. "Sometimes it gets on my nerves," she joked. "Like hello, Mami, I'm right here. Julio is the only one who understands my struggles. Middle child syndrome, you know? We just try to be agreeable and sweet. Benny is a lot like you, bullheaded and with a temper."

"Well, Gloria has a way of bringing that out of you," Ceci said matter-of-factly.

"She said that she's tried calling you," Elena told her.

Ceci nodded. "She's left voice mails. I haven't listened to them... I'm not ready to… not yet," she admitted.

"That's okay," Elena reassured her.

Ceci pinched her bottom lip between her fingers. "What if I'm never ready to?" she asked worriedly. She sighed deeply and brought another bite of her omelet to her lips.

"No one's holding a gun to your head, Ceci. You don't owe her anything."

"Why did you take her back, Elena? What was it for you?" Ceci asked softly, her eyes focused down on her plate as she pushed her food around. "I mean after everything... why?"

"I don't know," Elena confessed. "I just missed her, I guess. Everything is different. She's different, and in the same breath she's the same, and it feels like it used to. I just wanted her back, ya know, and after this morning, I feel like I need her. You're never too old to need your mama, even if she sucks sometimes."


	4. Chapter 4

-04-

Looking at her phone, Gloria bit her lip nervously as she took in the time. It was almost 5:30 and she had to get across town to pick Isla up from daycare before 6.

"Excuse me, ma'am," she heard her customer call for her.

Gloria quickly shoved her phone back into the pocket of her dress pants. "Yes, ma'am," she acknowledged the older woman, making her way over to her. "How can I help you?"

"Do you have these shoes in an 11?" the woman asked her politely.

"No, I remember selling the last pair in an 11 yesterday," Gloria told her. "But I can order them for you, or maybe see if another location has them."

"Do you think you can order them in black?"

"I can see if it's available," Gloria offered. She walked back toward her desk and the woman followed closely behind her. "Are these for a wedding?" she asked conversationally as she typed in the skew number on the shoes.

"Yes, my daughter is getting married," the woman told her proudly. "My husband isn't able to get off work, and he left shopping until the last minute. The wedding is next weekend."

"Oh," Gloria frowned. "Well… I just looked up the store across town, they have the same shoe in stock at their location. It says they have a size 11 available. I could call them to hold it for you, and you could pick it up tomorrow," she offered.

"They can't mail it?"

"I'm sure they can, but I personally wouldn't risk it," Gloria told her. "You don't want to be in a situation where the shoes don't get here in time."

The woman sighed. "Okay," she relented. "Thank you."

Gloria picked up the phone and made the necessary call. She relayed the woman's information to the store's manager, confirming that they had the same style of shoe, in the color black, in a size 11.

"Okay," Gloria scribbled the information down on a pink sticky note. "Thank you very much, I'll let her know… you too... bye." She extended her hand with the pink sticky note to the customer. "The manager's name is Joyce, and she'll be there all day tomorrow," Gloria explained. "She said when you come in, ask for her. She promised to put the shoes in her back office and hold them for you. I wrote down the address and phone number just in case."

"Thank you." The woman reached for a business card and a pen. "What was your name?"

"Gloria."

The woman scribbled that down and folded the pink sticky note around the card. "Thank you, Gloria. Have a good evening."

"You too," Gloria told her as she followed the woman to the door. She gave her one last smile and wave before flipping the lock in place and kicking off her heels. It'd been a very long day, and she'd wanted nothing more than to call in this morning and just spend the entire day with Isla. She picked up her shoes from the floor and walked in her stocking clad feet back to her desk.

She'd have to rush if she wanted to get to the daycare by 6. It would be her luck to drop the ball on the first day—the first chance—Elena gave her to pick up Isla. She sighed. It's not as if it were her fault though. Even if it were after hours, she had to help every customer who was in the store.

She switched her heels out for the black flats that were in her purse. She'd already packed away her other belongings and finished up her closing duties. The cash drawer and receipts had been counted and squared away in the back office, the phones had been forwarded to voicemail, and she'd already taken out the trash. As far as she was concerned, she was done with work until Monday.

…

"Can you hold on just a few moments?" Gloria asked the cab driver as he pulled up outside of Isla's daycare. "I'm picking up my granddaughter," she explained, pulling her ID out of her wallet. Elena had sent her a message earlier that morning telling her she'd have to show proof of who she was before the school would let her take Isla home.

"I'll have to keep the meter running."

"That's fine, it should just take a few minutes." Gloria stepped out of the cab and all but sprinted to the front door of the daycare. She was just barely on time, but barely on time was better than nothing.

"Hello," the blond woman on the other side of the front desk greeted her. "How can I help you?" she asked.

"Hi," Gloria smiled back. "I'm here to pick up Isla Mendoza, I'm her grandmother," she explained, holding out her ID. "Elena said she called this morning, to tell you I was picking her up today."

"Yes," the woman smiled back, taking her ID and reading it quickly. "She also said she was adding you to Isla's emergency contact list too, is that correct?" she asked, handing the card back.

"Yes," Gloria answered without hesitancy. Elena hadn't mentioned doing that, but what was Gloria going to say? No, if there's an emergency you can't call me. Please.

"She gave me your information over the phone this morning. Can you confirm if this is correct?" The woman turned her computer screen around so that Gloria could see her contact file.

Gloria read it all back silently to herself. "Yes," she answered finally. "Can I also add my work number?" she asked. "Sometimes I'm with a customer and can't answer my cell phone."

"Sure. What is it?" the receptionist turned the computer back around to face her and quickly typed in the number that Gloria listed off by memory. She clicked a few more buttons on the computer and then pointed to the door on the other side of her desk. "Go through these doors, all the way down, and you'll see a green leaf on the door, and that's Isla's classroom."

"Thank you," Gloria slid her ID back into her wallet and then dropped it into her purse. Following the directions that she was given, she arrived at the door in no time. She knocked softly, peaking into the window to get a look at the little classroom her granddaughter spent most of the day in.

The teacher waved her in, and she stepped quietly into the room. The space was bright and playful. There were toys and books, and an area where the kids could hang up their belongings. Huge windows lined the back of the classroom, and right outside was a decent sized playground where the kids could run around. It almost made Gloria wish she were four years old again.

She spotted Isla sitting on a blue mat with two other kids, all presumably waiting for their parents to pick them up. She waved at her granddaughter, who waved back to her.

"That's my Nona," Isla told her teacher happily, jumping up to her feet. "I get to go home now."

"Yes," her teacher agreed, standing up to walk her the short distance to the door. She extended her hand to Gloria. "Hi, I'm Ms. Conway," she introduced herself.

"Hello, I'm Gloria. I'm Isla's grandmother."

"It's very nice to meet you. Isla's been very excited for you to come," Ms. Conway told her with a smile. "She's been saying all day that you two were going to have a lot of fun together this weekend."

Gloria felt as if her heart would burst out of her chest. "I sure hope so," she said softly. "I've had to resist picking her up all day."

Ms. Conway smiled and tucked a strand of brown hair behind her ear. "Isla, would you like to show your grandmother the work you did today?"

"Sure!" Isla said happily. She took her grandmother's hand in hers and led her over to a small workstation. "We got to paint today," she told her as she pointed at the large piece of paper with different colors of paint splattered all over it. "I painted this, it's a cat."

"Honey, I love it! It looks so beautiful!" Gloria praised her. It looked nothing like a cat, but she wasn't going to tell Isla that. She took the piece of paper into her hands, looking it over carefully. There were streaks of blue, orange, pink, and red, the colors and excitement blurring together in a way that told her that Isla had had a lot of fun creating this masterpiece.

"Did you spell your name all by yourself?" she asked her, pointing to the name at bottom of the page. The letters were huge and curved upward in a rainbow-like fashion. Isla had even printed the 's' in her name backward.

"Yes," Isla told her proudly.

"You're such a smart girl," Gloria praised her. "Your Mami is going to love this so, so much. I bet she will hang it on the fridge as soon as she gets home."

"I didn't make it for Mami, I made it for you," Isla told her sweetly. "Can you hang it up on your fridge instead?"

"Oh, baby, of course, I will," Gloria stroked her hand over Isla's messy braid. "C'mon, Mija, let's go. We have some errands to run, but maybe you and I can do some more coloring or painting this weekend. You can make something for your Mami."

"I can make you something to take to work too!" Isla suggested happily.

"I'd love if you made me something to take to work," Gloria told her sincerely.

Isla smiled, nodding her head in agreement. "We're going to have so much fun this weekend!"

"Yes, we are," Gloria promised her.

…

When they'd finally made it home it was almost 7:30. After leaving the daycare, Gloria had had the cab driver drop her off at a grocery store not too far from her apartment. She needed to get a couple of things to make dinner, and she wanted to give Isla the chance to rent a movie and get some snacks to enjoy.

It was her prerogative as a grandmother to ensure that Isla had the best time with her this weekend. Not to mention, she had nearly four-years worth of spoiling to make up for.

"Okay, Mija, do you want to watch tv or help me in the kitchen?" Gloria asked as she unloaded the arm full of groceries that she was carrying onto the kitchen table.

"I'll help you," Isla told her as she climbed onto a chair.

"Hey mom," Benny and Julio greeted her, coming through the front door moments later.

"Hi," Gloria called over her shoulder. "Where are you boys coming from?" she asked as she and Isla started to unpack the grocery bags.

"We were at Michael's," Benny told her. "We're going to go to dinner and then maybe catch a movie."

Gloria smiled. Benny had stayed close friends with Michael, Sophia's son, and in turn, she and Crystal had become very familiar with one another. Crystal was actually the one who got her the job she had now, and Gloria couldn't have been more grateful. She now had good hours, good benefits, and was the most stable she'd ever been.

"Did you notice who I have with me?" Gloria gestured to her granddaughter.

"Oh, hey, Izzy," Julio greeted his niece.

Isla made a face at the nickname, her cheeky little smile making her look so much like Benny. "That's not my name!" she told him with a laugh. "My name is Isla."

"I know what your name is," Julio assured her. "You don't like to be called Izzy?"

"No," she shook her head.

"What are you girls doing tonight?" Benny asked, pulling up a chair opposite of his mother.

"We're going to make dinner, get ready for bed, and then snuggle up and watch a movie," Gloria told him happily. "We bought ice cream and stuff to make cookies."

"Maybe we should cancel plans with Michael and hang out with you instead," Julio suggested jokingly.

"Would save me forty dollars," Benny grumbled.

"Do you want to?" Gloria asked hopefully. "We'd love to have you join us."

"Nona is making pizza," Isla told him as she held up the pepperoni and cheese, they had bought at the grocery store.

The two brothers shared a look with each other across the table. "I'll stay if you do," Benny agreed.

Julio nodded his head. "Why not," he shrugged his shoulders.

"Good," Gloria said finally. "Come on, Isla, let's wash our hands and I'll help you make your pizza." She helped her granddaughter see over the sink and listened as Benny placed a quick call to his friend.

"Hey, Michael, Julio and I aren't going to be able to go out tonight. We got home and my mom brought my niece over, so we're going to hang out with them… if you want to come over you can… okay, catch you later then."

It felt indescribable to say how happy her heart truly was. There were so many nights that she'd laid in bed trying to process how in the hell she'd ever messed things up so badly with her children, that she didn't think she'd ever get here. Tonight, felt like a true gift from God. The only thing that was missing now was her girls.

One day, she thought.


End file.
